No âmbito do projeto OceanTrans foi realizado um inquérito a empresas potencialmente ativas ou interessadas na área das energias renováveis marinhas, visando identificar as empresas que compõem a cadeia de valor industrial que se está a formar nesta área, e obter informação sobre as atividades por elas desenvolvidas/a desenvolver e ainda sobre as suas percepções relativamente à atuação numa área ainda emergente.

Foi elaborado um documento síntese das respostas de empresas que afirmaram estar ou ter estado ativas na área e das empresas que colocaram a perspetiva de vir a entrar no futuro, o qual foi enviado aos respondentes.

As respostas do primeiro grupo permitem uma primeira visão das atividades, perspetivas e problemas das empresas que constituem a cadeia de valor industrial que está a contribuir para o desenvolvimento destas tecnologias, sendo importantes para compreender as lacunas existentes e também para identificar obstáculos que deverão ser abordados para acelerar esse desenvolvimento.

As respostas do segundo grupo dão algumas indicações relativamente às possibilidades de expansão e diversificação dessa cadeia de valor e permitem ainda ter uma noção das barreiras que as empresas interessadas na área pensam poder vir a confrontar e que podem restringir a sua iniciativa.

Abstract

Purpose | The paper addresses the “disturbing” effects that new generations of technology can introduce in the early trajectory of a regional industrial path built around wind offshore technology, focusing on the dimensions along which such disturbance occurs and the actors’ responses to them.

We look at the case of the industry formed around wind energy technology. The first generation – onshore wind – drove the development of new industrial paths in some regions. The introduction of new generations (fixed & floating offshore wind) that increasingly diverge from the onshore technology, leading to significant changes in the industry concerned with their production and deployment (Van Der Loos et al., 2020).

It is argued that the emergence of the new technology generations potentially produced disturbance along several dimensions (Gong & Binz, 2023) that could affect the industrial and institutional configuration of the wind energy path. The industrial development required, not only innovation activity in the existing manufacturing industry, but also the involvement of a new set of industries. The location at sea made proximity to the natural resource more pertinent, required new infrastructures, demanded regulatory changes and raised new acceptance issues (MacKinnon et al., 2019). Thus path-disturbance would occur at different assets level and actors’ agency.

The paper empirically analyses the case of Portugal, which developed an onshore wind energy (Bento & Fontes, 2015) and has engaged early in the experimentation with the new generation of floating offshore wind (Castro-Santos et al., 2020).

Methodology/Approach | The empirical analysis combines secondary data – on the structure of the onshore industry and on the experimental activities aiming at the early development of floating offshore wind – and interviews with a diverse range of actors (from the existing path; key actors that were early drivers; newcomers from other industries / areas of activity; policy makers at different governance levels; etc). Using secondary data, we map and compare the onshore industry core structure and the emerging configuration that results from floating experimental activities. Based on the interviews, we go in greater depth into the processes underway.

Expected Results | The analysis enables us to assess actor overlaps, as well as the extent and type of new actor entry. It also reveals the attitude of actors towards the potential for disturbance and their motivations and action to generate opportunities emerging from the disturbance. This research provides insights into the dimensions on which the involvement (or the willingness to get involved) with the new technology generation is inducing disturbances, and into actors’ agency in these processes.

Keywords | Path disturbing, path development, wind energy.

O artigo investiga a variedade na configuração dos lugares em torno de uma tecnologia sustentável, na sua fase inicial de desenvolvimento. Adotando uma abordagem sistémica e multiescalar ao desenvolvimento da tecnologia, este artigo propõe que a natureza espacialmente distribuída do processo de emergência de uma tecnologia conduz à formação de diferentes configurações locais de atores e redes, que podem contribuir de diferentes formas para o desenvolvimento dessa tecnologia. Com base no estudo de caso da tecnologia de energia das ondas e utilizando uma metodologia que permite integrar e comparar os processos emergentes que vão tendo lugar na Europa, a investigação revela cinco perfis de lugares, que ocupam diferentes posições no sistema emergente e, portanto, devem ser considerados no seu todo para compreender plenamente o processo de desenvolvimento do novo sistema. O artigo contribui para o conhecimento sobre os processos sistémicos multilocais e multiescalares que têm lugar nas fases iniciais do desenvolvimento tecnológico, contribuindo para uma melhor compreensão do processo de construção de um sistema global em torno de uma nova tecnologia sustentável.

Margarida Fontes, Hélder Santos, Teresa Sá-Marques

7th Geography of Innovation Conference | GeoInno 2024

The paper addresses the “disturbing” effects that new generations of technology can introduce in the early trajectory of a regional industrial path built around that technology, focusing on the dimensions along which such disturbance occurs and the actors’ responses to them.

Marine renewable energy technologies (MRET) can contribute to the decarbonization of energy, as well as to the revitalisation of other sectors, but are still an emerging and uncertain area. The development of these technologies entails the construction of a new industrial value chain, requiring the involvement of established firms from a variety of industries. Thus, it is important to understand how established firms can be mobilised to support MRET development, by pursuing diversification strategies. This paper addresses this question by looking at the case of Portuguese firms that expressed willingness to engage with MRET and investigating how they perceive the opportunities for diversification into the new business area, the changes they may need to introduce in their resources and capabilities to exploit those opportunities, and the obstacles they expect to face.

Marine renewable energy technologies (MRET) have the potential to become an important source of clean energy and, simultaneously, contribute to the revitalisation of other sectors (Fontes et al, 2021). The realization of such potential requires the construction of a new industrial value chain that combines the competences associated with the new technologies with complementary resources and competences present in the existing industry (Makitie et al, 2018).

The involvement of established firms, as suppliers or co-developers is thus critical, but can be problematic. Firms tend to resist engaging with immature technologies and their promoters, given the technical and market uncertainty and the lack of legitimacy, as well as their own lack of competences in the new field (Ansari and Kropp, 2012; Cohen and Levinthal, 1990). However, declining markets or limited opportunities for growth in the existing ones, may lead firms to search for opportunities of diversification, along with their existing business (Helfat and Eisenhardt, 2004). Firms may also try to keep an eye on new (competitive) technologies, through an early engagement (Dyerson and Pilkington 2005), which can support future entry strategies.

It is therefore important to understand how established firms can be mobilised to support MRET development, through diversification into the emerging field. Corporate diversification strategies are used to pursue growth opportunities in other markets (Wiersema and Beck, 2017). Firms can introduce their current product/service portfolio in new markets, or to follow an innovation strategy where they adapt their current product/service to the new market or even develop a new set of products/services for that market (Penrose 1995; Helfat and Eisenhardt, 2004). The choice between these different diversification strategies may be influenced by the relatedness between the company’s current resources and competence and the ones demanded by the new markets (Lüthge, 2020). Moreover, these different diversification strategies may require different types of investments/business changes and raise specific challenges.

This paper focuses on companies from sectors potentially relevant for MRET that are willing to enter this new market and aims to understand how companies see: the opportunities to become engaged with the new market through different diversification strategies; the implications of such engagement for the firm’s business; and the problems that may arise.

For this we conduct empirical research on the case of MRET in Portugal, based on a questionnaire survey. The analysis addresses 119 companies not yet involved with MRET but that affirmed to be willing to enter this market in the future, which are inquired about their perceptions on the requirements of that entry. In the case of these companies, engagement with MRET may prove to be an opportunity for innovation and business diversification (Bento et al, 2021), but for such potential to be achieved it is necessary to understand the business changes and the difficulties that this strategic move may entail.

The results provide important insights into how to motivate and support companies whose contribution is critical to the development of a new industrial value chain, being relevant to assist the formulation of policies targeting them.

Keywords: new industrial value chain; diversification strategies; marine renewable energy technologies; firms’ perceptions.

THIS IS A WORKING-IN-PROGRESS RESEARCH PRESENTED AT GEOINNO2022 IN MILAN; COMMENTS AND CRITICS (juliana.barbosa@lneg.pt) ARE MORE THAN WELCOME.

The approach used here to examine the co-evolution of wind energy in Portugal and specific industrial sectors has three phases. The first one is identifying the main products necessary in the supply chain of wind energy deployment. Here we have two types of products, those used exclusively in this value chain, that we call CORE-CORE products, in our case the wind turbines. The other kind of products are those necessary but not exclusive to this value chain, such as the metal tower, these are the CORE products. The second phase assesses the evolution of these sectors, individually and in a network context thru the product space.

Finally, the interactions between the focal sector and context is discussed in both directions. Industrial products are here the connections between the deployment of the technology and the industrial evolution.

After having identified the supply chain industrial products at the first phase, we assessed their dynamics in the second phase and interaction with the context in the third phase. For CORE-CORE sectors we consider the international trade and the installed turbines. For CORE products, we assessed the trajectory and connections at product space. In the third phase, the interactions with the context, we first consider the interaction of our Core sectors with the local context by the comparison of the firms turnover by sectors inside and outside of territory and the relative employment. Finally, we tried to see if the dynamics of core products was in a more favorable national context or in a less favorable one.

For the first result, at the CORE-CORE sector, the data show that Portugal was a net importer and transited to a net exporter. The main source of imports was Spain followed by Germany. When Portugal became an exporter, Spain was also the destination in the beginning and more recently the United Kingdom is the main destination of exports. After the ENEOP it is clear an increase in the number of turbines from ENERCOM, one of the partners of the consortium ENEOP. It is important to highlight that it is an international supply chain logic.

The trajectory of core sectors production is shown in the bars, the destination of production in the bar colors and the number of firms in the lines. We observed an increase in almost all sectors with exception of electric motors. Besides the production, the number of firms increased also. For the bearings the main destination was Europe and for electronic components was the national market.

If we consider the international trade data organized at product space, where the size of nodes indicates if the product is core or not. Then we have a subnet composed by the core product and their neighbors. The color indicates if Portugal is competitive or not at that product at that year (RCA>1). Between 2000 and 2018, we can observe a small improvement in this subnet.

For the first assessment of the possible effect of the technology in the regional context, we compare the turnover of the firms by sector in the country, in the macroregion and in the municipality where the main industries of the consortium were built. It is clear an increase in turnovers in the machine sector after 2008.

Another way to assess if the context was favorable or not for the new industry could be the diversity dynamics and the novel competitive products in the country. The data show that the time of the launch of the combined industrial and energy policy was a time of increase of diversity and of several new products in the Portuguese economy.

The set of products had increased production and increased companies. The primary market for the set of products has been the national market, but the European market is significant for some products like generators. The international data analysis indicates industrial spillovers in the product space, considering the main products and their first neighbors.

Abstract

Investment in renewable energy technologies (RET) produces impacts on economic activity and job creation that are fundamental to increase their social acceptability. This paper proposes a methodology to assess the transformative impact of RET on the industry. The paper combines contributions from literatures such as sustainability transitions, socioeconomic impacts of RET and economic complexity.

We develop a conceptual approach to the way technology deployment can lead to changes in the industrial structure, centered on the notion of product heterogeneity. We apply this approach to the case of wind energy in Portugal (a successful fast follower), compared to three other main wind energy producers (Spain, Denmark, Germany). The results show a relationship between deployment of technology and the sophistication and the competitiveness of the “cloud of products” composing the industrial value chain.

We propose measures for assessing the effects of energy technology innovations on the industrial structure, with relevance to policy.

Keywords: economic complexity; industrial effects; renewable energy; technology deployment.

Abstract

The “Blue Economy” is considered one of the drivers of European growth, based on the development of new competences and activities that enable a sustainable exploitation of ocean resources (EC, 2021; Howard, 2018). Strategies and policies were formulated, both at the UE and national levels, to address “Blue growth”, combining industrial growth objectives with sustainability concerns. These strategies have targeted a broad variety of actors engaged in ocean-related activities, namely companies from established and new industries, and have promoted the development of new transversal technologies through the support of research and innovation (Sousa et al, 2020; EC, 2012).

These new, transversal technologies – such as advanced materials, biotechnology, ICTs, robotics – have the potential to drive changes in established industries, contributing to their transformation and economic revitalization (Dolata, 2009). This revitalization is achieved by the establishment of inter-industrial relationships (Stephen et al., 2017), between established and new industries, and by the adoption of diversification strategies (Wiersema & Beck, 2017) by companies from the established sectors, resulting from the exploitation of the opportunities opened by the collaborations established (Fontes et al., 2021).

This paper analyses the role played by research and innovation projects in providing conditions for a fruitful interaction between previously unrelated activities (Content et al, 2021), in the field of “blue economy”, conducive to the economic revitalization of established industries and the emergence of new ones. Transformative activities in this field are especially important, given the weight of ocean-related traditional sectors in the economic activity of several European countries, including Portugal, and the need to revitalize their activities (RCM nº120/2021), particularly in the context of a post-pandemic recovery.

The paper addresses the conditions in which interaction between new technologies and established activities can bring about change within the Blue Economy. It proposes that collaborative relationships in the context of research and innovation projects can be a first step towards the development of new products or adaptation to new markets (Becker & Dietz, 2004), that may drive diversification processes in established/mature sectors. It further proposes that technology-based firms – and in particular knowledge intensive business services (KIBS) – play a key role in these processes, as co-innovators and “translators” (Shearmur & Doloreux, 2017), that bring knowledge related to new technologies and support their combination with business/market competences and (material) resources of established firms. These processes can be critical to induce new activities in established, mature sectors, thus contributing to their rejuvenation and revitalization.

The empirical analysis addresses the development of Blue Economy in Portugal, adopting an exploratory approach. In a first step it uses Social Network Analysis (SNA) to map the relationships between the sectors involved in Blue Economy related projects. The collaborative relationships between new and established sectors and their potential to induce revitalization and transformation processes are then illustrated through a few cases, in areas selected by their relevance for the Portuguese economy.

To map the inter-industrial relationships, data was collected on two groups of projects with the participation of Portuguese firms: 1) projects funded by the Horizon 2020; 2) projects funded by various operational programmes from the Portugal 2020. A total of 168 projects were identified, 72 European funded and 96 supported by national funds. These projects involved 149 Portuguese firms from 68 industrial sectors, which were the object of the analysis.

The data shows two main dynamics. On one hand it provides evidence of the role of inter-industry collaboration networks in the development and implementation of new transversal technologies in established sea-related industries, to which they add value through new product development, increasing efficiency and safety and improving sustainability. This can be illustrated by the key role being played by KIBS and other technology intensive firms active in biotechnology in the revitalization of the fisheries/aquaculture or sea-related food sectors. On the other hand, the data also provides evidence that the development of new technology-based activities in the so-called “new uses of the ocean” area (e.g. marine renewable energies or marine inspection and monitoring) are providing established supplier sectors, such as shipbuilding or maritime works, with opportunities for engaging in collaborative relationships that lead to innovation and diversification.

These results are relevant to policies that aim to promote industrial transformation, in particular the revitalization of mature industries experiencing stagnation or decline, which became especially critical in the post-pandemic situation. They point to the need of a greater directionality of innovation policies (Mazzucato, 2018) and suggest that a potentially fruitful direction for these policies concerns the establishment or strengthening of inter-sectoral relationships between established and new industries, which can support increases in efficiency and sustainability, as well as create conditions for value-added diversification.

Keywords: Industrial transformation; Diversification; Blue Economy; Inter-industrial relationship; Research & Innovation projects; Social network analysis.

Reference

• Content, J., Cortinovis, N., Frenken, K. & Jordaan, J. (2021). The roles of KIBS and R&D in the industrial diversification of regions, The Annals of Regional Science (online), https://doi.org/10.1007/s00168-021-01068-9.
• Becker, W., & Dietz, J. (2004). R&D cooperation and innovation activities of firms—evidence for the German manufacturing industry. Research Policy, 33(2), 209-223.
• Dolata, U. (2009). Technological innovations and sectoral change. Research Policy 38: 1066–1076.
• EC (2012). Blue Growth opportunities for marine and maritime sustainable growth. COM/2012/0494 final.
• EC (2021). On a new approach for a sustainable blue economy in the EU. COM/2021/0240 final.
• Fontes, M., Bento, N., Andersen, A.D. (2021). Unleashing the transformative potential of innovations. Environmental Innovation and Societal Transitions 40: 207–221.
• Howard, B. C. (2018). Blue growth: stakeholder perspectives. Marine Policy, 87, 375-377.
• Mazzucato, M. (2018). Mission-oriented innovation policies: challenges and opportunities. Industrial and Corporate Change, 27(5), 803–815.
• RCM nº120/2021. Resolução do Conselho de Ministros n.º 120/2021 de 1 de setembro. Plano de ação da Estratégia Nacional para o Mar 2021-2030.
• Shearmur, R., & Doloreux, D. (2019). KIBS as both innovators and knowledge intermediaries in the innovation process: Intermediation as a contingent role. Papers Regional Science, 98(1): 191-209.
• Stephan, A., Schmidt, T. S., Bening, C. R., & Hoffmann, V. H. (2017). The sectoral configuration of technological innovation systems. Research Policy, 46(4), 709–723.
• Wiersema, M. F., & Beck, J. B. (2017). Corporate or Product Diversification. Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Business and Management. Oxford University Press.
• Sousa, C., Fontes, M. & Conceição, O. (2020). Blue Economy as a policy-driven innovation system: research funding and the direction of ocean-related innovation. Innovations in Digital Economy. Springer, Cham.
• Sousa, C., Fontes, M. & Conceição, O. (2022). Inter-industrial relationships driving the blue economy industrial transformation. Workshop Anual do DINÂMIA’CET-Iscte “Dinâmicas Socioeconómicas e Territoriais Contemporâneas”, 11-12 Abril, Lisboa.

Abstract

New, transversal technologies – such as advanced materials, biotechnology, ICTs, robotics – have the potential to drive changes in established industries, contributing to their revitalization and transformation. However, the technological, organizational and cultural distance between them may preclude the emergence of opportunities for transformative interactions. This paper analyses the role played by research and innovation projects in providing conditions for a fruitful interaction between previously unrelated activities. Processes of corporate diversification may result from the exploitation of the opportunities opened by the collaborations established.

The paper addresses the case of projects in the field of “blue economy”, which aims at combining socio-economic development and sustainability in the conduction of human activities related with the ocean. Transformative activities in this field are especially important, given the weight of ocean-related traditional sectors in the economic activity of several European countries, and the need to revitalize their activities, particularly in the context of a post-pandemic recovery.

Using social network analysis methods, the paper maps the interactions between new and established Portuguese industries, in order to investigate whether and to what extent they are leading to the development of innovative and sustainable solutions that can contribute to the reconfiguration of existing activities, or the creation of new ones. Then it focuses on the companies involved in the networks thus formed, in order to uncover the characteristics of the firms engaged in these processes and to understand roles played.

Finally, starting from the identification of a group of established industries with a strong weight in the Portuguese economic structure, the paper looks for evidence of revitalization and transformation processes being induced by collaboration with firms from new industries (e.g. fisheries/biotechnology or robotics; shipbuilding/marine energies; marine transportation/materials or instrumentation). Implications for transformative innovation policies are derived.

Keywords: Industrial transformation; Diversification; Blue Economy; Inter-industrial relationship; Social network analysis.

Reference

Sousa, C., Fontes, M. and Conceição, O. (2021). Opportunities for economic revitalization through inter-industrial relationships: the case of blue economy, Proceedings of the ECIE 2021 – 16th European Conference on Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Reading (UK): Academic Conferences International Limited, pp. 945–954.

Sousa Fontes Conceicao – ECIE21 Proceedings-Vol-1.pdf

Abstract

Decarbonizing the energy system requires new technologies, whose formation and diffusion needs the attraction of actors from different sectors to compose the value chain. Sectoral interactions are crucial and dependent on contextual and technological factors, as well as firm-specific characteristics. This paper examines the determinants of firm diversification towards a new technology and their role in sectoral interactions. We combine concepts from technological innovation systems (TIS), sectoral innovation systems and organization studies to examine the drivers of actors’ entry as well as their impact on systems’ formation, through the effect on inter-sectoral relations associated with technological variety and relatedness. The development and demonstration of marine renewable energy technologies (MRET) in Portugal over the past two decades provides the empirical case. A database of 237 companies includes responses from a survey of a large part of the actors involved in MRET and potential entrants. A standard binary logit model estimates the effect of a set of drivers of firms’ entry in MRET. Firms are more driven by variety-led factors and technology maturity, than by their technological capacity and sectoral proximity. We derive implications for policy and theory, namely for the conceptualization of inter-sectoral relations in TIS.

Keywords: technological innovation systems, inter-sectoral relations, relatedness, firms, energy technologies

Margarida Fontes, Hélder Santos, Teresa Sá Marques

Abstract

A sustainable energy transition is fundamental to combat climate change (IPCC, 2018). The energy system has already undergone a profound transformation, driven by a first generation of clean, renewable energy technologies (Mitchell, 2016). But other technologies are currently under development that propose to address some of the new challenges generated along this process (Markard, 2018), or to explore other, still underexploited, energy sources that can further contribute to the decarbonisation of the energy system. The objective of this paper is to investigate the spatial dimension of the emergence and early development of one such technology, wave energy (ETIP Ocean, 2020), in order to gain new knowledge that permits to accelerate its development and enable places to capture its economic and social benefits (Andersson et al., 2018).

Combining sustainability transitions and innovation geography theories, the paper extends recent conceptualizations of the formative phase of technology development that enable a better understanding of its systemic nature (Markard, 2020), to better encompass the spatial dimension (Binz et al., 2020). Accordingly, the research proposes that formative processes occur in a space that is built by places and their networks at different scales (Hansen & Coenen, 2015), and investigates how actors organise themselves in space, structuring particular configurations of networked places that generate more favourable environments for both technology and local development.

The paper conducts a pan-European analysis of how a new technology system is being spatially built around wave energy technologies. It draws on information from the R&D projects funded by the European Union. This permits to uncover the process of territorial grounding of the research and technology development activities conducted by the actors involved in the technology, and to gain some understanding of the spatial patterns of their interactions.

The results show some variety in the territorial configurations and their evolution trajectories. A typology of places was produced that reflects diverse place positioning towards the development of the technology in the formative phase. In particular, a number of “virtuous” configurations were identified, some of them showing high persistence and consolidating over time.

The research contributes to an understanding of how places are formed as part of the early technology emergence. This is relevant because such early processes can be determinant to shape subsequent development and, therefore, influence the odds that a given place captures the benefits of the technology once it reaches the market.

Keywords: Wave Energy Technology; Formative Phase; Place Configurations; Multiscalar Networks; Geography of Sustainability Transitions.

Abstract

This paper tackles the transformative potential of new sustainable technologies, that is, the ways in which the development of these technologies can induce structural change by driving new activities in other sectors of the economy (Dolata, 2009). In particular, it discusses whether and how links established between technology producers and firms from existing sectors create conditions for combination of diverse knowledge, driving diversification processes with transformative effects.

For this, the paper draws on insights of several literature streams: sustainability transitions, namely the discussion on the transformative impacts of transitions (Andersen et al, 2020; Boschma et al, 2017) strategic management, for processes of corporate diversification (related and unrelated) (Helfat and Eisenhardt, 2004; Picone and Dagnino, 2015) and networks and knowledge creation and diffusion in particular debates on bridging knowledge bases and on the role of proximities (Lamperti et al, 2020; Stephan et al, 2017).

The paper starts from the notion that companies that belong to a certain sector share a knowledge base. Collaborations established in research and innovation projects, aiming at the development of the new technologies, facilitate contacts and knowledge sharing between sectors that may or may not be related at the outset, opening opportunities for cross-fertilization and recombination of knowledge (Arts and Veugelers, 2014; Janssen and Frenken, 2019; Stephan et al, 2019;). Therefore, collaborative projects create an intersectoral space of knowledge sharing and co-creation that spurs the emergence of novelty.

These spaces of intersectoral interaction can trigger corporate diversification processes, since they create new business opportunities related to the new technology that can be exploited (individually or jointly) by companies from a variety of sectors, established and new. This can lead to processes of change and contribute to the revitalization of traditional sectors.

This conceptual approach is applied to the case of the new marine renewable energy technologies in Portugal, which is a pioneer in this field (Fontes et al, 2016). The empirical research addresses the following question: to what extent the emergence of marine energy technologies mobilizes knowledge from different sectors and creates opportunities for corporate diversification?

The research starts by mapping and characterizing the “intersectoral interaction space” created by R&D and innovation projects. This analysis is based on secondary data from national and European publicly funded projects, involving Portuguese actors/companies, and is conducted using Social Network Analysis. The configuration of this space provides indications on particular areas in which conditions for knowledge combinations are likely to be more favourable.

In order to understand whether the opportunities thus created are being exploited, the analysis subsequently focuses on Portuguese companies identified as active in the marine energy technologies. This analysis is based on primary data on firms’ innovation activities and organizational changes, collected through a survey, as well as on secondary data (industrial databases, reports, websites, etc.). The objective is to understand whether these companies are engaged in activities that denote diversification processes associated with the new technologies.

The paper contributes to a better understanding of the mechanisms that enable established industries to engage with and benefit from the development of sustainable technologies, enabling a better understanding on how to steer sustainable transitions in the desired directions from an economic and social standpoint.

Reference

Andersen, A.D., Steen, M., Mäkitie, T., Hanson, J., Thune, T. M., Soppe, B. (2020). The role of inter-sectoral dynamics in sustainability transitions: A comment on the transitions research agenda. Environmental Innovation and Societal Transitions, 34, 348–351.

Arts, S., Veugelers, R. (2014). Technology familiarity, recombinant novelty, and break-through invention. Industrial and Corporate Change, 24(6), 1215–1246.

Boschma, R., Coenen, L., Frenken, K., Truffer, B. (2017). Towards a theory of regional diversification: combining insights from evolutionary economic geography and transition studies. Regional Studies, 51, 31–45.

Dolata, U. (2009). Technological innovations and sectoral change: Transformative capacity, adaptability, patterns of change: An analytical framework. Research Policy, 38, 1066–1076.

Fontes, M., Sousa, C. and Ferreira, J. (2016). The spatial dynamics of niche trajectory: the case of wave energy. Environmental Innovation and Societal Transitions, 19, 66–84.

Helfat, C.E., Eisenhardt, K.M. (2004). Inter‐temporal economies of scope, organizational modularity, and the dynamics of diversification. Strategic Management Journal, 25(13), 1217–1232.

Janssen, M., Frenken, K. (2019). Cross-specialisation policy: rationales and options for linking unrelated industries. Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society, 12(2), 195–212.

Lamperti, F., Malerba, F., Mavilia, R., & Tripodi, G. (2020). Does the position in the intersectoral knowledge space affect the international competitiveness of industries? Economics of Innovation and New Technology, 29(5), 441–488.

Picone, P.M., Dagnino, G.B. (2015). Revamping research on unrelated diversification strategy: perspectives, opportunities and challenges for future inquiry. Journal of Management & Governance, 20(3), 413–445.

Stephan, A., Bening, C.R., Schmidt, T.S., Schwarz, M., Hoffmann, V.H. (2019). The role of inter-sectoral knowledge spillovers in technological innovations: The case of lithium-ion batteries. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 148, 119718.

Stephan, A., Schmidt, T.S., Bening, C.R., & Hoffmann, V.H. (2017). The sectoral configuration of technological innovation systems: Patterns of knowledge development and diffusion in the lithium-ion battery technology in Japan. Research Policy, 46(4), 709–723.

Sousa, C., Fontes, M. and Barbosa, J. (2021). Intersectoral interaction spaces and the exploitation of new business opportunities: the case of marine energy technologies, 18th Conference of the International Joseph A. Schumpeter Society, 8–10 July, Rome.

Abstract

This paper investigates the conditions in which the development of new technologies induce structural change in the economy. A literature review reveals three factors that influence the industrial transformative capacity of a technology: context; complementarities; competition. We explore the dynamics of these factors, focusing on the extent and nature of induced activities in adjacent sectors. We apply this framework to study marine renewable energy technologies (MRET) in Portugal. Adjacent sector firms active in several MRET exhibited diversified activity, innovation and internal change. Comparing with Norway, where an offshore sector (oil & gas) supports the emergence of offshore wind, the absence of such sector in Portugal raises challenges but also creates opportunities for the transformation of several other sectors. We develop a new indicator to identify and compare the industrial transformative capacity of innovations. Finally, we discuss the extent to which context, complementarities and competition contribute to accelerate or hinder transformative change.

Highlights

• Inovação tecnológica avaliada em termos dos seus efeitos noutros setores;
• Capacidade de transformação industrial impulsionada pelo contexto, complementaridades e concorrência;
• A proximidade com as atividades existentes acelera o crescimento, mas a distância cria oportunidades;
• Especialização industrial e características tecnológicas como fontes de variação;
• É proposto um indicador para medir a capacidade transformadora das inovações.

Figure 1 – Portuguese case

Reference

Andersen, A. D., Bento, N., & Fontes, M. (2021). Unleashing the industrial transformative capacity of innovations. Environmental Innovation and Societal Transitions, 40, 207–221. ISSN 2210-4224.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eist.2021.07.004

Abstract

1. Introduction

The transition to carbon neutrality is a necessity for the world in the face of climate change. Some countries have already managed to make structured reflections on this transition and to quantify in general terms the necessary societal effort. This is the case in Portugal with the Roadmap for Carbon Neutrality[1]. The search for reaching quantified goals is complex and involves a myriad of public and private decisions. The decarbonization of the electro-producing sector and electric mobility is fundamental for achieving the goal of neutrality. Without underestimating the significant contributions that need to be made by the forestry sector, agriculture and industry, it is essential to consider the industrial context that can allow the increase of solar, offshore, and onshore wind energy, batteries, and electric vehicles. The referred roadmap considers that in 2050 there should be 14.3 GW of wind energy or an increase of 186% in terms of the installed capacity of 2015[1]. In order to have this volume of facilities and equipment, it is necessary to reflect on the volumes of products needed, their costs, and their origins (considering the current maturity of technologies and making sensitivity analyzes for future improvements).

It is crucial to integrate energy planning and industrial policy. This work makes the case of one product used in wind power technology, the blades. They were classified by [2] in the Harmonized System of classification (HS2007) as the product “841290 – Engines; parts, for engines and motors”. There are several forms of classification of products and activities, another one is the NACE code[3], and in this case, after the wind blades could be classified as “2811 – Manufacture of engines and turbines, except aircraft, vehicle, and cycle engines”.

Understand the industrial tissue of a country can be seen as a way to understand the knowledge embodied in that country because to produce something it is necessary a lot of capabilities (human, physical and institutional)[4]. There are connections between products, showing how similar can be the baskets of capabilities of the countries that produce them and in which direction are the most advantageous transitions in the industrial policy. The bunch of connections between products is called “product space” in the literature about economic complexity.

2. Methods

For this work, wind power is an illustrative case. It will compare the previous development of the production of a component of power production and the utilization of this source and then the connections between one product and its neighbours in a Portuguese product space. This comparison aims to draft some bridges between climate and industrial policies. The historical production of blades or a “proxy” of that measure by the product 2811 (Nace Rev2) is compared with the increase of wind power in the country in the last fifteen years. On the other hand, the Portuguese product space is analyzed in terms of the product 841290 in the respective connected products or nodes.

3. Results

The first results show that the increase in the production of product 2811, our proxy for blades, was accomplished by a national market increase and a wind power deployment between 2004 and 2007 as shown in Figure 1. Then the production keeps increasing production, not for the national market. Four years after this decoupling the wind power production stabilized the annual generation, one way to read that could be that is four years offset between production and generation in the grid.

Another approach is shown in Figure 2, considering the product space and the revealed comparative advantages (RCA). It demonstrates that the product 841290 has RCA above one, which means that the share of the product in the national industry is at least the same as the share of the international production of that product in international trade. For the neighbours, is the same, but if we consider an RCA above 2, neither the product nor the neighbours are so relevant.

4. Conclusions

As work in progress, this research put some light in approaches to integrate the climate and industrial policies. The two approaches could be combined in the future as a way to facilitate the materialization of the climate policy and at the same time, work on the most advantageous industrial policy for Portuguese society.

Reference

• [1] RCM, Resolução do Conselho de Ministros 107/2019, 2019.
• [2] I. Wind, HS Codes and the Renewable Energy Sector, 2010. Link.
• [3] European Commission, Statistical classification of economic activities in the European Community NACE Rev, 2008.
• [4] C.A. Hidalgo, B. Winger, A.L. Barabási, R. Hausmann, The product space conditions the development of nations, Science, 317 (2007), 482–487. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1144581.

Keywords: Wind power; industrial policy; climate policy.

Abstract

Decarbonizing the energy system requires new technologies, whose formation and diffusion needs the attraction of supply-side actors from different sectors. Sectoral interactions are crucial and dependent on factors including contextual, technological, and firm specific characteristics. This paper examines the determinants of firm diversification towards a new technology and their role in explaining sectoral interactions for the emergence of innovations. We combine concepts from technological innovation systems, sectoral innovation system and organization studies to show that the drivers of actors’ entry have an impact on TIS formation through their effect in sectoral interactions associated with technological variety and relatedness. The development and demonstration of marine renewable energy technologies (MRET) in Portugal over the past two decades provides the empirical case. A database of 237 companies includes responses from a survey to a large part of the actors involved in MRET and potential entrants. A standard binary logit model estimates the effect of a set of drivers of firms’ entry in MRET. Results reveal the importance of the drivers impacting on the construction of an actor base and on technology improvement. We discuss the implications for the operationalization of influence in the direction of search, a key innovative process in emerging technologies.

Highlights

• Energias renováveis marinhas abrem oportunidades para muitos setores e relações;
• A análise dos microfundamentos permite perceber a interação entre os setores além da criação de conhecimento nos novos sistemas de inovação tecnológicos.

Reference

(Bento, N., Fontes, M., Barbosa, J.) – “Inter-sectoral relations to accelerate technological innovation systems formation: determinants of actors’ entry into marine renewable energy technologies”. International Sustainable Transition Conference 2020 – 18–21 August – Virtual.

Apresentação

Abstract

The “Blue Economy” was strategically identified as a driver of European growth, through the development of new competences and activities that enable a sustainable exploitation of ocean resources. Research and innovation policies oriented to the Blue Economy, at both European and country levels, can be described as attempts at “mission-oriented” policies, which seek to influence the direction of growth towards sustainable transformative change in the ocean area. The objective of this paper is to analyse the directions followed by the research and technological development (RTD) activities conducted by Portuguese firms in order to understand whether the strategies and policies aiming at the development of the Blue Economy are being effective in their endeavour of steering such development in certain directions, thus creating conditions for a sustainable transformation in ocean related areas. The results provide some evidence of the role being performed by RTD promoted by these policies towards a transformative change in ocean related activities. Particularly, they show that they are contributing to: i) the generation of new areas and the revitalisation of existing sectors, through the creation and exploitation of new technological opportunities; and ii) a sustainable use of resources and the mitigation of negative environmental effects created by previous activities. Moreover, the results show intense interaction between different types of organisations. Particularly, they show that new technology intensive firms and industries are working together with existing firms from traditional sectors to exploit the new opportunities and technologies. The evidence suggests processes of cross fertilisation and technological upgrading of traditional activities, through the interaction in the RTD projects funded by clearly targeted public policies.

Highlights

• Papel transformador das políticas lideradas por desafios;
• Investiga efeitos das estratégias e políticas visando a criação da Economia Azul em Portugal;
• Alguma evidência de mudança sustentável nas atividades de IDT relacionadas com o oceano;
• Fertilização cruzada entre setores/empresas novos e estabelecidos que podem levar a transformação industrial;
• Efeitos localizados em algumas indústrias, enquanto outras ainda ficam para trás.

Reference

Sousa, C., Fontes, M. & Conceição, O. (2020). Towards a Blue Economy: the influence of policy strategies in the research and technology orientation of Portuguese firms. Proceedings of the 15th European Conference on Innovation and Entrepreneurship, pp. 632–641. (ISBN 978-1-912764-67-9).

Artigo publicado em Proceedings de Conferência

Abstract

The socio-technical transitions literature has turned an increased attention to the role played, in development and diffusion of new sustainable technologies, by the established structures – technological, organisational and institutional – within which these technologies emerge (Bergek et al., 2015; Markard & Hoffman, 2016). However, there is still a limited understanding of the impact of the emerging technologies upon these contextual structures (Fontes et al, 2019). This is namely the case for the territorial impacts of these processes, despite the growing attention to the spatial dimensions of sustainability transitions (Hansen and Coenen, 2015; Boschma et al, 2017) and the contributions of the literature on regional industrial path development (Martin and Sunley, 2006; Trippl et al, 2017).

In this paper we address this question by examining the trajectory of emergence and development a new sustainable energy technology and investigating: (i) whether the activities conducted along that trajectory increasingly engage companies from established sectors with complementary competences (Markard & Hoffman, 2016), whose activities can be influenced and eventually transformed by their involvement with the new technology (Fontes et al, 2019); (ii) whether these processes are simultaneously territorially anchored and connected to more international innovation systems (Binz & Truffer, 2017), with potential impacts on regional diversification (Fornahl et al, 2012; Coenen et al, 2015).

For this purpose we analyse the process of emergence and development of a renewable energy technology – wave energy. The analysis draws on an exhaustive database of all wave energy research, development and demonstration projects supported by the European Union, from 1992 to 2019 (from CORDIS database), enabling an assessment of 25 years of technology geography evolution, including its very early stages. Social network analysis methods support the identification of the composition and structure of the networks formed along different periods, which are territorially localised with the support of GIS tools.

Wave energy is still in a pre-commercial stage. However, experimental activities, which require the construction and sea deployment and operation of conversion systems (from prototype to full scale), have been conducted from early stages, requiring complementary resources and competences present in existing industries. The technology development have also been characterised by the interplay between the activities conducted in transnational networks and the actors’ territorial embeddedness (Fontes et al, 2016). The evidence of interaction with the industrial context and the multi-scalarity make this technology a relevant empirical setting.

This paper contributes to understand how the geographies of energy innovations are structured along the process of emergence and development of sustainable energy technologies, namely whether windows of opportunity are opened to the involvement of local/regional actors from established industries in the international technology development networks. This can create conditions for the transformation of their activities, with impact upon the regions where they are located.

Reference

Bergek, A., Hekkert, M., Jacobsson, S., Markard, J., Sandén, B., & Truffer, B. (2015) Technological innovation systems in contexts: Conceptualizing contextual structures and interaction dynamics. Environmental Innovation and Societal Transitions, 16: 51–64.

Binz, C., & Truffer, B. (2017). Global Innovation Systems—A conceptual framework for innovation dynamics in transnational contexts. Research Policy, 46, 1284–1298.

Boschma R., Coenen, L., Frenken, K., Truffer, B. (2017). Towards a theory of regional diversification: Combining insights from evolutionary economic geography and transitions studies. Regional Studies, 51(1), 31–45.

Coenen, L., Moodysson, J. and Martin, H. (2015). Path renewal in old industrial regions: Possibilities and limitations for regional innovation policy. Regional Studies, 49, 850–865.

Fontes, M., Sousa, C. and Ferreira, J. (2016) The spatial dynamics of niche trajectory: the case of wave energy. Environmental Innovation and Societal Transitions, 19: 66–84.

Fontes, M., Bento, N. and Andersen, A.D. (2019) Unleashing the transformative potential of transitions: context, complementarities and competition. 10th International Sustainability Transitions Conference, June 23–26, Ottawa.

Fornahl, D., Hassink, R., Klaerding, K., Mossig, I. and Schröder, H. (2012). From the old path of shipbuilding onto the new path of offshore wind energy? European Planning Studies, 20: 835–855.

Hansen, T., Coenen, L. (2015). The geography of sustainability transitions: Review, synthesis and reflections on an emergent research field. Environmental Innovation and Societal Transitions, 17, 92–109.

Markard, J. & Hoffmann, V.H. (2016). Analysis of complementarities: Framework and examples from the energy transition. Technological Forecasting & Social Change, 111: 63–75.

Martin, R. and Sunley, P. (2006). Path dependence and regional economic evolution. Journal of Economic Geography, 6: 395–437.

Trippl, M., Grillitsch, M., & Isaksen, A. (2017). Exogenous sources of regional industrial change. Progress in Human Geography, 42(5): 687–705.

(Fontes, M., Santos, H., Sá-Marques, T., 2020) – “On the crest of a wave: the geographic trajectory of wave’s energy technology emergence and development”. 2020 RGS-IBG Annual International Conference – Postponed to 31/08–03/09/2021.

Abstract aceite em Conferência

Abstract

O orto de uma nova tecnologia é um processo que ocorre dentro de um contexto socioeconómico e tecnológico existente, contribuindo, simultaneamente, para a sua transformação. A investigação realizada sobre os processos de emergência de novas tecnologias é extensa, no entanto, a dinâmica territorial desse processo ainda não está suficientemente analisada.

O trabalho centra-se na exploração da estrutura e dinâmica das comunidades territoriais de conhecimento que se dedicam ao desenvolvimento de uma nova tecnologia, com o objetivo de entender como o comportamento dessas comunidades molda o processo de emergência dessa tecnologia.

A pesquisa empírica concentra-se na energia das ondas, um campo tecnológico que experimenta um processo de emergência prolongado e que está longe de ser comercializado. Exploram-se todos os projetos de investigação, desenvolvimento e demonstração de energia das ondas apoiados pela União Europeia (1992 a 2018), permitindo uma avaliação de 25 anos de evolução da tecnologia, incluindo os estágios iniciais.

A identificação, em diferentes períodos de tempo, das comunidades de conhecimento, assim como a sua composição, estrutura e proximidade multidimensional, inclusivamente geográfica, são exploradas com base em metodologias de análise de redes sociais.

Os resultados mostram um processo não linear de evolução, mas também revelam uma complexidade crescente no comportamento das comunidades territoriais constituídas em torno da produção de conhecimento sobre a energia das ondas.

Reference

Fontes, M., Sá-Marques, T., Santos, H., Ribeiro, D. Análise multidimensional e multiescalar das redes de produção de conhecimento sobre energia das ondas.

Abstract aceite para apresentação no XVII COLÓQUIO IBÉRICO DE GEOGRAFIA – SALAMANCA – 4 a 6 DE JULHO DE 2022

Abstract

The “Blue Economy” has been identified as a driver of European growth, through the development of new competences and activities that enable a sustainable exploitation of ocean resources. Strategies and policies were formulated, to achieve these goals. Research and innovation, aiming at the revitalisation of established sectors and the development of emerging industries as well as at a better understanding of the marine environment and the requirements for its preservation were key elements of these strategies.

The strategies and policies defined at EU level had a strong impact upon the formulation of the Portuguese National Ocean Strategy 2013–2020 and the associated Mar-Portugal Action Plan. The central goal was to enable the country to recover its “national maritime identity” and regain a position in this area, by increasing the contribution of maritime sectors to the domestic product, strengthening the scientific and technological capacity, and stimulating the development of new fields.

The objective of this paper is analyse the directions followed by the research and technology development activities conducted by Portuguese organisations in the areas encompassed by the Blue Economy, in order to conduct a first assessment of the effectiveness of the strategic orientations defined. In particular, we seek to understand:

• which areas appear to have been privileged and thus are likely to be developing faster, and which are the main gaps; which is the relative importance of new areas vs. advances targeting established ones;
• the position of different types of actors in the developments taking place, namely to what extent they involve companies; the role played by new technology intensive companies in developing new technologies and products and/or in linking between research and industry.

For this purpose, the paper analyses the research and technology development (RTD) activities conducted by Portuguese organisations in the context of projects funded under the Horizon 2020 European Framework Programme for Research and Innovation (2014–2020). Using the Community Research and Development Information Service (CORDIS), we identified and collected information on the 136 projects with Portuguese participation related with the Blue Economy and on their participants. The projects were classified according to the priority areas defined in the Portuguese Strategy and Action-Plan, in order to assess their position relatively to them.

The analysis of the projects shows a heterogeneous picture (cf. Table 1). The results indicate an important investment, in particular by research organisations, in “system structuring” activities, i.e. the development of knowledge about the marine resources and marine environment, as well as about the impacts of human activity and ways to reduced or remediate them. This was identified as a gap in the national strategy and is critical for the sustainable exploitation of the ocean. They also show that activities targeting industrial activity are mostly concentrated in the exploitation of living resources and in marine energies. In the first case, by attempting to revitalise established industries (e.g. fish capture and transformation) namely through research investment in aquaculture. But also by investing in a new area – marine biotechnology – with a variety of application sectors (e.g. fisheries, health, environment). In the second case, by strengthening the investment made in marine renewable energies in the last decades.

Concerning organisations positioning (cf. Table 2), results show the central role of research organisations that not only dominate in structural activities but are often part of mixed teams in application-oriented projects. They also point to an important role of new technology intensive companies (e.g. active in biotechnology, instrumentation, underwater robotics and materials), particularly in areas that require development of more application-oriented methods, products, services. A similar role is played in some areas by a few other technology-oriented companies, often large firms. These two types of firms are often part of mixed teams with research organisations and, in a few cases, with established companies from user sectors. But the participation of this latter group is very limited.

The analysis was mostly focused on Portuguese organisations. However, the majority of projects also involved organisations from other countries, which were the main actors in some of them. In this broader context, Portuguese organisations could profit from the interaction with reputed foreign partners, namely in areas where new competence was being acquired. Thus, the areas targeted by these projects were also areas where the development of country capabilities in Blue Economy fields could reap the benefits from international research cooperation, which potentially contributed to broadening knowledge bases and extending international networks.

These results can be relevant for policy makers, providing some indications on the relative success of policies for the development of a Blue Economy in Portugal and signalling the areas that still require greater attention.

Table 1 – EU projects by priority areas

Keywords

Blue economy; Policy Strategies; Innovation System; Research & Development; New Technology Intensive Firms.

Reference

Sousa, C., Conceição, O. and Fontes, M. (2020). Creating a Blue Economy: Research and innovation partnerships to accelerate the development of ocean-related industries, oral presentation at Workshop Dinâmicas Socioeconómicas e Territoriais Contemporâneas V, 21–22 Janeiro 2020, DINÂMIA’CET-IUL, Lisboa.

Programa-_Workshop-DINAMIA.pdf

DC-2020_Cristina.pptx

Abstract

New technologies are necessary to address climate change, but their development and implementation can have different impacts on decarbonizing the energy system and transforming the economy. This work adds to previous efforts to conceptualize how technology innovation influences industrial change (Fontes et al., 2019; Dolata, 2009). The transformative capacity of new technologies depends on technological characteristics as well as contextual variables (Bergek et al., 2015), as shown, for example, in the case of Marine Renewable Energy Technologies or MRET (Fontes et al., 2019). The context influences the development of complementary interactions with existing industries, which are critical to access key resources and markets, but this requires organizational and institutional changes that remain little understood (Markard and Hoffman, 2016). Hence, this study aims to address the following question: Which are the conditions that enable a new technology to involve the largest number of sectors and induce their transformation? In particular: Which factors lead firms to engage with new technology innovation?

The conceptual framework combines contributions from the sustainable transitions literature with those from economic complexity, economic geography, and strategic management. This comprises research on firm diversification into related activities (Laurens et al., 2018), investigation that extends the concept of relatedness beyond technology to encompass other competences (Neffke and Hening, 2013; Tanner, 2014), research on how regions diversify into new industries (Martin and Sunley, 2016; Fornahl et al, 2012), and the debate on the role of related/unrelated diversification in new path creation (Boschma, 2017; Janssen and Frenken, 2019).

We derive a set of hypothesis concerning the factors that influence firms’ decisions to engage with the new technologies. Thus, the propensity to enter into the new field is expected to be higher:

• H1. When firms belong to sectors that are associated with the development of the technology and are identified as the core complementary sectors (Hidalgo et al., 2007);
• H2. When firms are from sectors that are less proximate to the technology, but that provide competencies and resources that enable the full operation of complex technologies (Fontes et al., 2019);
• H3. When firms display characteristics that have been shown to make them more likely to engage in diversification (Laurens et al., 2018): greater dimension, higher technological competence, greater innovation capacity.

The empirical research addresses the case of wave energy and offshore wind in Portugal, focusing on the firms from sectors that can contribute with competences and resources to their development (Scheme 1). Firms were identified through: i) secondary sources, firms involved in MRET as partners or suppliers in experimental projects; ii) a questionnaire targeting firms from sectors identified as potential contributors to the development, production, installation and operation of MRET (OTEO, 2014). This provided a set of firms with different attitudes towards MRET. The objective was to uncover the determinants of firms’ decision to become involved in the development of these new technologies. For this purpose we collected data on firms’ characteristics, sector of activity and innovation capacity from a variety of databases (e.g. Amadeus, Cordis, ANI, EspaceNet). In addition we created a new variable “complementarity” which indicates whether the firm’s sector of activity is among the core sectors defined for MRET (cf. Wind, 2009).

We used standard binary logit regressions to estimate the effect of a set of determinants in the decision of firms to develop activities in MRET (see Appendix 1 and Table 1). Graph 1 shows actual and predicted impacts on activity for four key variables. The variable “complementarity” is negative and statistically significant, meaning that firms from sectors unrelated to core sectors are 2.6 to 3.7 times more likely to become involved in MRET. This result confirms hypothesis 2 while refuting hypothesis 1. On the other hand, firms more technologically advanced (“Medium to High technology”) and participating in national research projects are significantly less likely to participate in the development of MRET. However, the probability slightly increases for larger companies and for those that have not low technological content. These results partially validate hypothesis 3.

Therefore it appears to be unnecessary to have a high technology content and strong innovation capacity to engage with the emerging MRET, and potentially benefit the opportunities for change this entails (Fontes et al., 2019). These opportunities may be open to firms from traditional sectors, providing that they have a certain dimension, which gives them conditions for engaging in product or market diversification. The research also finds that these firms are often likely to be active in sectors that are not part of the “complementary core”. This suggests that technologies that have more significant transformative potential have an impact that goes beyond sectors with greater proximity to the technology. It is now necessary to further confirm these results and explore them in greater depth, namely to better understand the importance of unrelated diversification.

Keywords

System transformation; Relatedness; Diversification; Energy technologies.

Scheme 1 – Structure of the research

Reference

Bento, N., Fontes, M. and Barbosa, J. (2020). How innovations attract actors: Insights from 20 years of experimenting with marine energy renewable technologies in Portugal, oral presentation at Workshop Dinâmicas Socioeconómicas e Territoriais Contemporâneas V, 21–22 Janeiro 2020, DINÂMIA’CET-IUL, Lisboa.

Programa-Workshop-DINAMIA-1.pdf

How innovation attract innovators_20Jan’20.pdf

Webinar

Neste Webinar foram discutidas pistas para informar as políticas tecnológicas que visam promover a descarbonização da economia até 2050, de modo a responder à urgência climática e aos compromissos internacionais, com exemplos no desenvolvimento das energias renováveis marinhas.

Keywords

Difusão de inovações; Sistemas de inovação tecnológicas; Transições sustentáveis; Descarbonização; Políticas tecnológicas.

Reference

Webinar sobre políticas tecnológicas e descarbonização – Energias Renováveis Marinhas.

Diffusion and decarbonization PT_P2M_Mistral_5Jun’20.pdf

Abstract

The Blue Economy can be a driver of European growth, through the development of new competences and activities that enable a sustainable exploitation of ocean resources. This paper assesses the directions followed by the research and innovation activities performed by Portuguese organisations in the fields encompassed by the “Blue Economy”, at the light of national and EU strategies. It analyses the projects developed by Portuguese actors in the context of European framework programmes to uncover: the areas privileged — namely the relative importance of emerging areas vs. new advances targeting established ones — and the relative position of different types of organisations in the developments taking place.

The results point to stronger efforts in system domains related to marine resources and the marine environment and in some industry oriented domains. Among the latter, emerge new industries such as marine biotechnology and marine renewable energies and established industries exploiting marine living resources (fisheries, aquaculture). The results highlight the prominent position of research organisations in both new and established areas, as well as the relevant position of new technology intensive firms, in areas that require the development of application-oriented activities, where they often intermediate between research and industry. The results suggest that the international cooperation favoured by these projects permitted to open-up the national system, contributing to broaden the organisations’ knowledge bases and to extend their international networks.

Highlights

• Investimento principal ao nível do sistema (recursos marinhos e ambiente) e em alguns domínios orientados para a indústria;
• Investigação visa quer novas indústrias, como energia ou biotecnologia marinha, quer indústrias estabelecidas, como pesca e aquacultura;
• Papel central das organizações de investigação que dominam em atividades estruturais;
• Novas empresas de base tecnológica em áreas como biotecnologia, robótica ou materiais, frequentemente intermediárias entre investigação e indústria;
• Oportunidade para organizações portuguesas expandirem redes internacionais e alargarem bases de conhecimento.

Reference

Fontes, M., Sousa, C. and Conceição, O. (2019). Creating a Blue Economy: Research and innovation partnerships to accelerate the development of ocean-related industries. Proceedings of Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University International Scientific Conference on Innovations in Digital Economy (SPBPU IDE’19), October 24–25, 2019, Saint Petersburg, Russia. ACM, New York. (ISBN 978-1-4503-7244-2/19/10).

https://dl.acm.org/doi/abs/10.1145/3372177.3373329

Abstract

The paper investigates the construction of strategies aiming to up-scale low-carbon innovations from pilot to full commercial scale. This requires a systemic understanding of the evolution of the technology along with the organizations and infrastructures supporting its development. Technological innovation systems concepts operationalize system building processes, including the establishment of constituent elements and the performance of key innovation activities. The study surveys the national roadmaps published between 2009 and 2014 for offshore wind energy in deepwaters (more than 50 m deep) which inform on how actors expect the system to grow, including the innovation activities crucial to achieve it. The roadmaps point to the role of guidance and legitimacy as triggers of changes in other innovation processes (knowledge creation, experimentation and so on) needed for take-off. The analysis reveals that the growth plans conveyed in the roadmaps are overly optimistic when compared with the time taken to develop offshore wind energy in fixed structures for shallow waters. Several countries have adopted supporting policies following the publication of the roadmaps, but weaknesses in crucial innovation processes (e.g. specialized skills) and external factors (e.g. crisis, regulatory approval) resulted in a delay of the first large investments. Policy should be based on realistic expectations and adequate to the phase of innovation, such as the promotion of technology-specific institutions (standards, codes, regulations and so on) in technology up-scaling. New directions for research are also provided.

Highlights

• O aumento de escala envolve mudanças a nível tecnológico e institucional.
• São analisadas 10 propostas para o desenvolvimento da energia eólica offshore flutuante.
• Visões e estratégias convergem para acelerar a difusão.
• Projetos de maior dimensão, mas também regulamentação e codificação são requisitos para um aumento de escala do sistema.

Reference

(Bento, N., Fontes, M., 2019). Emergence of floating offshore wind energy: Technology and industry. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Volume 99, Pages 66–82, ISSN 1364-0321.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2018.09.035

Abstract

The emergence of a new technology is a process that takes place within an existing technological, economic and social context, benefitting from established structures and also contributing to their transformation. Although much research has been conducted on technology emergence, the territorial dynamics behind this process are still underexplored.

The paper investigates the structure and dynamics of the territorial knowledge communities that engage, over time, in the development of a new technology, with a view to understanding how their behaviour shapes the processes of technology emergence. More specifically, the paper addresses the following questions: How changes in the territorial knowledge communities in terms of geographical reach, actor composition and relational dynamics co-evolve with the emergence of a new technology? Which specific spatial and actor configurations contribute the development of new interdependences between existing industries and the emerging technology, promoting its structuration?

The empirical research focuses on wave energy, a technology field that experiences a prolonged emergence process and is still far from commercialisation. It analyses all the wave energy research, development and demonstration projects supported by the European Union (from 1992 to 2018), enabling an assessment of 25 years of technology evolution, including its very early stages. Social network analysis methods support the identification, along different time periods, of the knowledge communities with highest relational proximity, which are territorially localised with the support of GIS tools and further characterised in terms of composition and relational behaviour.

The results show a non-linear process of evolution, but also reveal an increased complexity in the behaviour of territorial knowledge communities, expressed in growing intra and inter-community variety and diversity, both at relational level and in terms of the constellations of actors, with impacts on the pace and directions of technology development.

Highlights

• Comunidades de conhecimento na energia das ondas: internacionalmente conectadas e com forte inserção territorial.
• Evolução lenta e não-linear, mas diversificação espacial e complexidade crescente na composição e comportamento relacional das comunidades.
• Ancoragem territorial das atividades e definição de estratégias a nível global influenciaram direção do desenvolvimento, contrariando períodos de declínio.

Reference

(Fontes, M., Sá-Marques, T., Santos, H., Sousa, C., Nuno, B., 2019). Global emergence of new technologies: a dynamic analysis of territorial knowledge communities and relational proximity in wave energy. Regional Studies Association Annual Conference 2019, 05–07 June, Santiago de Compostela, Spain – Oral presentation.

Global emergence of new technologies

Abstract

Several innovations promise to accelerate transition but only a few can engender broader socio-economic effects beyond environmental improvement. This research questions under which conditions the development of new technological systems contributes to changes in other sectors. We conceptualize the transformative potential of innovations in three dimensions: context; complementarities; and competition. We discuss this framework against the empirical case of the development of marine renewable energies – whose growth benefit from spillovers of existing activities – in different contexts, such as Portugal and Norway. While the existence of an offshore oil & gas industry accelerates the emergence of offshore wind in Norway, the absence of an offshore energy sector raises challenges, but also creates opportunities for the transformation of several sectors in Portugal. We also perform a sectoral mapping and a survey of the actors in Portugal. Support to mature innovations lead to faster results in the focal sector; combined technology development results in more diversified activity, innovation and organizational change in adjacent sectors. Implications include a framework for assessing the socio-economic impacts of innovations, as well as the identification of policy-relevant circumstances that can simultaneously accelerate the transition to a low-carbon energy system and stimulate its transformative potential.

Highlights

• Tecnologias com capacidade transformadora induzem mudanças no contexto industrial.
• Foco na extensão e natureza das atividades de setores adjacentes que se envolvem nas tecnologias emergentes.
• Apoio a tecnologias mais maduras permite resultados mais rápidos no setor emergente; apoio ao desenvolvimento combinado de diferentes tecnologias resulta em atividades mais diversificadas, inovação e mudança organizacional em setores adjacentes.
• Comparação com a Noruega revela que o contexto influencia a intensidade e a natureza das relações complementares e competitivas.

Reference

(Fontes, M., Bento, N., Andersen, A., 2019). Unleashing the transformative potential of innovations: context, complementarities and competition. International Sustainable Transition Conference 2019, 23–26 June, Ottawa, Canada – Presentation.

Unleashing the transformative potential of innovations